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Endicott Peabody

For his grandfather, the educator, see Endicott Peabody (educator).

Endicott Howard Peabody (February 15, 1920 – December 2, 1997) was an American politician from Massachusetts. A Democrat, he served a single two-year term as the 62nd Governor of Massachusetts, from 1963 to 1965. His tenure is probably best known for his categorical opposition to the death penalty and for signing into law the bill establishing the University of Massachusetts Boston. After losing the 1964 Democratic gubernatorial primary, Peabody made several more failed bids for office in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, including failed campaigns for the U.S. Senate in 1966 and 1986.

Endicott Peabody
Peabody, circa 1969–1971
62nd Governor of Massachusetts
In office
January 3, 1963 – January 7, 1965
LieutenantFrancis Bellotti
Preceded byJohn A. Volpe
Succeeded byJohn A. Volpe
Member of the
Massachusetts Governor's Council
from the 3rd district
In office
1955–1957
Preceded byDavid B. Williams
Succeeded byChristian A. Herter, Jr.
Personal details
Born( 1920 -02-15)February 15, 1920
Lawrence, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedDecember 2, 1997(1997-12-02) (aged 77)
Hollis, New Hampshire, U.S
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Barbara Welch Gibbons
​
​
(m. 1944)​
Children3
Parent(s)Malcolm E. Peabody
Mary E. Peabody
RelativesJohn Endecott (ancestor)
Endicott Peabody (grandfather)
Henry Parkman (grandfather)
Henry Parkman Jr. (uncle)
Marietta Peabody Tree (sister)
Desmond FitzGerald (former brother-in-law)
Ronald Tree (brother-in-law)
Frances FitzGerald (niece)
Penelope Tree (niece)
EducationHarvard University (AB, JD)
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Branch/serviceUnited States Navy
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsSilver Star
College football career
Personal information
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight181 lb (82 kg)
Career history
CollegeHarvard (1939–1941)
High schoolGroton (Massachusetts)
Penn Charter (Philadelphia)
Career highlights and awards
College Football Hall of Fame (1973)

Born in Lawrence, Massachusetts to a family with deep colonial roots, Peabody played college football at Harvard University, where he earned honors as an All-American lineman. He served in the United States Navy in World War II before embarking on a political career noted more for its failures than its successes. He made multiple unsuccessful attempts to win the position of Massachusetts Attorney General, and for the United States Senate representing both Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and ran for United States Vice President in 1972.

Early life

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Endicott Peabody, nicknamed "Chub", was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, the son of Mary Elizabeth (née Parkman) and the Reverend Malcolm E. Peabody, an Episcopal Bishop of Central New York.[1] He was a grandson of the founder of Groton School and Brooks School, also named Endicott Peabody, and was a descendant of colonial governor John Endecott.[2] His maternal grandfather, Henry Parkman, was a Boston businessman and politician.[3]

Peabody first attended the William Penn Charter School, and graduated in 1938 from the Groton School.[1] He earned his A.B. from Harvard College in 1942, majoring in history. Peabody played on the Harvard Crimson football team and also played ice hockey and tennis.[4] He stood out in football, where he was known as the "baby-faced assassin",[5][6] playing three seasons on the varsity squad, and was the only unanimous choice for the 1941 College Football All-America Team.[7] He was awarded the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy for best collegiate lineman in 1941,[4] and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1973.[7]

Peabody served in the United States Navy during World War II, primarily as a Lieutenant aboard the USS Tirante in the Pacific Ocean theater.[8][9] He led several boarding parties involving hand-to-hand combat, for which he was awarded several commendations including the Silver Star.[10]

Early forays into politics

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See also: 1960 Massachusetts gubernatorial election

While serving in the war, Peabody decided to embark on a career in politics. After the war ended, he attended Harvard Law School, receiving his J.D. degree and attaining admission to the Massachusetts bar in 1948. His first political work was on the 1948 presidential campaign of Harry S. Truman. Truman appointed him an Assistant Regional Counsel for the Office of Price Stabilization in 1950 and Regional Counsel for the Small Defense Plants Administration in 1952.[4][11] In 1954 he won election to the Massachusetts Governor's Council, serving one two-year term. In 1958, Peabody ran for Attorney General of Massachusetts, but lost in the Democratic primary to Edward McCormack, Jr. by nine percentage points.[12] In 1960, he ran for Governor of Massachusetts, but came in second (out of seven candidates) in the Democratic primary with 25.5% of the vote.[13] In that year's presidential election, he coordinated John F. Kennedy's campaigns in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire.

Governorship

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Peabody as governor.
 
Peabody with Massachusetts U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy and Boston Mayor John F. Collins in January 1964.
 
Peabody (left) with Boston Mayor John F. Collins and President Lyndon B. Johnson
See also: 1962 Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1963–1964 Massachusetts legislature, and 1964 Massachusetts gubernatorial election

In the 1962 gubernatorial election, Peabody was victorious in the race for governor, upsetting the Republican incumbent John A. Volpe by only 4,431 votes out of over two million cast. Peabody's campaign manager was his law partner Joseph M. Koufman. Peabody was aided in the victory by endorsements from President Kennedy, and the landslide victory of Kennedy's brother Edward in the coinciding race for the president's former United States Senate seat.

During his administration, voters approved a state constitutional amendment extending the terms of office of all state constitutional officers from two years to four years, starting from the next election. Peabody advocated laws to prevent discrimination in housing and to establish drug addiction treatment programs. He also strongly opposed capital punishment and "vowed that he would not sign a death warrant even for the Boston Strangler, if he were ever caught and convicted."[14] This position was controversial, especially because several police officers were killed in the line of duty in the state during his tenure.[15] Peabody recommended the commutation of every death sentence that he reviewed while governor.[16] Massachusetts' last executions took place in 1947, though the penalty itself remained in force. On June 18, 1964, Peabody signed into law the bill establishing the University of Massachusetts Boston.[17]

On April 1, 1964, the governor's 72-year-old mother, Mary Parkman Peabody, made headlines when she was arrested at the Ponce de Leon Motor Lodge in St. Augustine, Florida, for attempting to be served in an integrated group at a racially segregated restaurant. The action made her a hero to the civil rights movement and brought civil rights efforts in St. Augustine, the nation's oldest city, to national and international attention.[18]

In 1964, Lt. Gov. Francis X. Bellotti mounted a primary campaign against Peabody for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. Although Peabody was supported by Senator Kennedy and the party convention, Bellotti was victorious in the primary. Peabody's loss was variously attributed to his controversial opposition to the death penalty, his stiff demeanor in television appearances, and a bruising defeat he suffered early in his term in opposing the winning candidate for Speaker of the Massachusetts General Court.[15] Bellotti subsequently lost the general election to John Volpe.

Post-governorship

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Senate campaign

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In 1966, Peabody ran for the U.S. Senate, for which there was an open seat that year as a result of the retirement of Leverett Saltonstall; he won the Democratic nomination but was defeated by a landslide in the general election by the Republican nominee, the liberal state Attorney General Edward Brooke.

1972 vice presidential election

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Peabody undertook a quixotic campaign for Vice President of the United States on the Democratic ticket in 1972;[19] he came in fourth in the balloting at the 1972 Democratic National Convention. He ran under the slogan "Endicott Peabody, the number one man for the number two job."

New Hampshire

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In 1983, he moved to Hollis, New Hampshire, where he ran unsuccessfully for local and statewide political office several times, including for the U.S. Senate in 1986 against the Republican incumbent, Warren Rudman.

In 1992, Peabody ran again for vice president by competing in the New Hampshire vice-presidential primary, where he won with 59.7% of the vote. However, the primary is non-binding, and, at the prerogative of the presidential nominee, Bill Clinton of Arkansas, the vice-presidential nomination eventually went to Al Gore of Tennessee. Clinton and Gore subsequently won the general election.[20]

Also in 1992, Peabody ran for a seat in the New Hampshire House of Representatives, but he came in third place with 20.7% of the vote.[21]

Peabody died from leukemia in Hollis in 1997, aged 77. His remains were interred in Groton, Massachusetts.

Family

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On June 24, 1944, Peabody married Barbara Welch "Toni" Gibbons (1922–2012), a native of Bermuda, the elder daughter of Morris Gibbons, a member of the Parliament of Bermuda, and his wife, the former Maude Madge Welch. Peabody and his wife had a daughter, Barbara, and two sons, Robert and Endicott Jr.[22]

Peabody's sister, Marietta Peabody Tree, represented the United States on the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.[23]

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Electoral history

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Endicott Peabody electoral history
1958 Democratic primary for Massachusetts attorney general[24]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Edward J. McCormack Jr. 238,477 54.63%
Democratic Endicott Peabody 198,016 45.37%
Write-in 12 0.00%
Total votes 436,505 100.00%
Massachusetts Democratic gubernatorial primary, 1960 [25]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Joseph D. Ward 180,848 30.23%
Democratic Endicott Peabody 152,762 26.53%
Democratic Francis E. Kelly 98,107 16.40%
Democratic Robert F. Murphy 76,577 12.80%
Democratic John Francis Kennedy 52,972 8.85%
Democratic Gabriel Piemonte 28,199 4.71%
Democratic Alfred Magaletta 8,826 1.48%
Write-in All others 3 0.00%
Total votes 598,294 100.00%
1962 Massachusetts gubernatorial election
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Endicott Peabody 596,533 79.96
Democratic Clement A. Riley 149,499 20.04
Total votes 746,052 100.00
General election
Democratic Endicott Peabody 1,052,322 49.92
Republican John A. Volpe (incumbent) 1,047,891 49.71
Socialist Labor Henning A. Blomen 5,477 0.26
Prohibition Guy S. Williams 2,394 0.11
Total votes 2,108,084 100.00
Democratic gain from Republican
1964 Massachusetts Democratic gubernatorial primary
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Francis X. Bellotti 363,675 49.61
Democratic Endicott Peabody (incumbent) 336,780 45.94
Democratic John J. Droney 27,357 3.73
Democratic Pasquale Caggiano 5,250 0.72
Total votes 733,062 100.00%
1966 U.S. Senate election in Massachusetts
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Endicott Peabody 320,967 50.35
Democratic John F. Collins 265,016 41.85
Democratic Thomas Boylston Adams 51,435 8.07
Total votes 637,418 100.00
General election
Republican Edward Brooke 1,213,473 60.68
Democratic Endicott Peabody 774,761 38.74
Socialist Labor Lawrence Gilfedder 6,790 0.34
Prohibition Mark R. Shaw 4,833 0.24
Total votes 1,999,857 100.00
Republican hold

1972 Democratic National Convention (Vice Presidential tally)

1986 U.S. Senate election in New Hampshire
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Endicott Peabody 20,568 61.18
Democratic Robert L. Dupay 6,108 18.17
Democratic Robert A. Patton 3,721 11.07
Democratic Andrew D. Tempelman 2,601 7.74
Write-in 619 1.84
Total votes 33,617 100.00
General election
Republican Warren Rudman (incumbent) 154,090 62.96
Democratic Endicott Peabody 79,222 32.37
Independent Bruce Valley 11,423 4.67
Total votes 244,735 100.00
Republican hold

1992 New Hampshire Democratic vice presidential primary:[26]

New Hampshire House of Representatives Hillsborough District #22 election, 1992[21]

  • Susan B. Durham (R) – 2,089 (31.32%)
  • George W. Wright (R) – 1,925 (28.86%)
  • Endicott Peabody (D) – 1,378 (20.66%)
  • Barbara Peabody (D) – 1,279 (19.17%)

(* – write-in candidate)

References

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  1. ^ a b Porter, p. 498
  2. ^ "Endicott Peabody, The Man With the Thickest Skin in New England". New England Historical Society. February 15, 2014. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
  3. ^ "Peabody–Parkman: Wedding at Emmanuel Church Yesterday Attended By Many Prominent People". The Boston Globe. June 20, 1916.
  4. ^ a b c Porter, p. 499
  5. ^ "Nation: Massachusetts: Ex-Loser". Time. November 16, 1962. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  6. ^ Corbett, Bernard M. (2002). Harvard Football. Arcadia Publishing. p. 38. ISBN 9780738510743. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  7. ^ a b "Endicott Peabody". National Football Foundation. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  8. ^ "CDR George L. Street III (1945)". Naval Submarine League. Archived from the original on March 18, 2012. Endicott Peabody, a future governor of Massachusetts, was a lieutenant on the Tirante.
  9. ^ "Massachusetts Governor Endicott Peabody". Archived from the original on January 4, 2010. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
  10. ^ Baltzell, p. 307
  11. ^ Herman, p. 219
  12. ^ Our Campaigns – MA Attorney General- D Primary
  13. ^ Our Campaigns – MA Governor – D Primary Race – Sep 13, 1960
  14. ^ Gottschalk, Marie (March 16, 2011) Is Death Different?, The New Republic
  15. ^ a b "PEABODY'S UPSET STIRS BAY STATE; Bellotti Is Victorious Despite Kennedy Backing of Foe". New York Times. September 12, 1964.
  16. ^ "Peabody's commutation of capital punishment sentences". Archived from the original on August 14, 2019. Retrieved December 29, 2007.
  17. ^ Feldberg, Michael (2015). UMass Boston at 50: A Fiftieth-Anniversary History of the University of Massachusetts Boston. Amherst, Massachusetts: University of Massachusetts Press. p. 10. ISBN 978-1625341693.
  18. ^ "Lincolnville Historic District". National Park Service. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
  19. ^ Molotsky, Irvin (December 4, 1997). "Endicott Peabody, 77, Dies; Governor of Massachusetts in 1960s". The New York Times.
  20. ^ Our Campaigns – US Vice President – D Primary Race – Feb 18, 1992
  21. ^ a b NH State House – Hillsborough 22
  22. ^ Marquard, Bryan (June 10, 2012). "Toni Peabody, 89; outspoken wife of governor's governor wife aided disabled; at 89". The Boston Globe.
  23. ^ Palumbo, Mary Jo (August 17, 1991). "Marietta Tree, at 74, longtime public servant". Boston Herald. Archived from the original on July 13, 2012. Retrieved December 2, 2011.
  24. ^ Massachusetts Election Statistics 1958. p. 65.
  25. ^ Election Statistics.
  26. ^ Our Campaigns – US Vice President – D Primary Race – Feb 18, 1992

Sources

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Political offices
Preceded by Governor of Massachusetts
January 3, 1963 – January 7, 1965 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Democratic nominee for Governor of Massachusetts
1962 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Democratic nominee for U.S. Senator from Massachusetts (Class 2)
1966 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Democratic nominee for U.S. Senator from New Hampshire (Class 3)
1986 		Succeeded by
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